Ergo BABY!

I wanted to write a quick review about my newest baby carrier--the Ergo Sport. I absolutely love this thing. I have a gazillion other carriers that I've tried out. Here is a list of my carriers and a quick note.

• ring sling-- which I like. It ends up getting fairly heavy on my back when worn for long time periods though.
• Baby Bjorn-- I hate hate hate this carrier. It is extremely hot, hard on Cora's hips, and my back aches when I wear it for more than 20 minutes. If I can give any advice to moms-to-be, don't waste your money. And if you have one and "love" it, you haven't spoiled yourself with a good carrier. :)
• Mei Tai-- I like this one, too. It is quite similar to the Ergo without the buckles. It just wraps around and ties. However, mine was made with flannel and it gets HOT!
• Ergo Sport!!-- This carrier is amazing. I have been wearing it constantly and I have no pain anywhere. Cora is so comfortable she'll actually sleep in it. Here is what I like about it.

Most of the weights bears on the hips. It has a very supportive waist band. If you backpack, you'll know how important it is to have a good waist band.
The straps are padded and contoured to fit my shoulders nicely
I can wear Cora on my front, back, and hip.
I can wear her until she weighs 40 lbs!
I have a backpack that straps on. If you don't need that much room, you can get a waist pouch.
It is not too hot.
It is easy on Cora's hips. She is still small, so I have to be careful with that.
There is a hood to pull up to block the sun and hold their head during naps.
There are a bazillion accessories such as a weather cover. I really need to invest in that if I plan to use this hiking. :)
I can get Cora into and out of the pack with no assistance.

It allows me to hold Cora more which is very very important to me.
Lee can easily fit this carrier as well.

So, are there any cons? It is still a bit difficult to get Cora in and out of the back carry. I need to use my bed for assistance because she can't hold on yet. Within a few months, I'll be able to swing her around to my back.

Here are a few pictures of what it looks like. Ignore my hair do. My bangs need trimmed.

This is me practicing a front carry with Mya. She liked it so much that she wanted to be held in it. She is 23 pounds and her weight was very evenly distributed throughout the carrier making a medium size baby comfortable to carry. (Yes, Mya is small...little shorty).

This is a back view with Cora. She is asleep with the hood pulled up.

Here is a side view with my sleeping girl. You can see how the hood just conforms around her head.

This is us the first time I tried a back carry. She fell asleep a short time later. :)

I have spent a lot of time researching carriers. Something that is very important to both Lee and me is that we hold our children as much as possible. Cora spends a lot of time in our arms. I don't practice attachment parenting per se, but I agree with a lot of the philosophy. The reason I say I don't practice it, is because I really haven't fully researched it. If you're interested, google search it. It is a philosophy coined by Dr. William Sears.

I like to say I practice Sascha parenting. I breastfeed on demand. I sometimes co-sleep. I do not believe in "crying it out". I smile every time I see her even if I want to slam my head against a wall. :) Finally, I wear my baby. I am a firm believer that baby wearing will not create attachment issues. If anything, it will create a trusting bond between Cora and me. I don't want to get to0 preachy in this post. I just wanted to put something out there in the blog world that if a mom really wanted to wear her kid, an Ergo is great. Based on how much I like the Ergo, I am guessing a Moby wrap and Babyhawk would rank high up there for me.